DAILY MARKET WRAP

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its bullish trend on Monday, with indices fluctuating between positive and negative territories before closing in the green. However, trading volumes witnessed a slight decline compared to the previous session, indicating reduced investor participation.

Global equity markets exhibited mixed performances, while crude oil prices continued their downward trend. WTI crude dropped by 5.93% settling at $67.52 and Brent crude declined by 5.65% to $71.36. (As at 3:48 PM PST, Source: Investing.com).

The benchmark KSE-100 index experienced early volatility, dipping to an intra-day low of 89,732.73 registering a loss of 261.24 pts. However, it rebounded strongly reaching an intraday high of 91,054.84 gaining 1,060.87 pts. By the end of the session, the index posted a net gain of 201.55 pts closing at 90,195.52. The KMI-30 index also recorded gains advancing by 227.50 pts to close at 136,341.80. Meanwhile, the KSE All-Share index rose by 189.76 pts finishing the day at 57,651.29.

Trading volumes declined from the previous session's 693.84 mn shares to 566.21 mn shares. Fauji Foods Limited (FFL) remained the most actively traded stock with a gain of 4.30%, exchanging 53.65 mn shares. K-Electric Limited (KEL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) followed with 29.88 mn and 27.41 mn shares traded, respectively, posting a loss of 4.80% and gains of 7.10%.

Sector-wise, the Banking sector provided the strongest boost to the KSE-100 index, contributing 126.53 pts, followed by the Food and Personal Care Products sector (+102.86 pts) and the Technology and Communication sector (+95.78 pts). Among individual stocks, the top performers are Systems Limited (SYS) adding 105.81 pts, Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited (COLG) contributing 65.32 pts and Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO) advancing by 61.26 pts.

The Food and Personal Care Products sector rose by 3.24% in its cumulative market capitalization. Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited (COLG +6.81%), Nestle Pakistan Limited (NESTLE +1.31%), Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited (UPFL +1.78%) and Ismail Industries Limited (ISIL +2.06%), all closed in positive territory.

Values as at 04:15